Sarah is an experienced commercial litigation lawyer, advising clients on all aspects of dispute resolution, internal investigations, and contentious situations. Sarah McAtominey is a partner in Goodwin’s Complex Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice, where she focuses on resolving complex disputes for financial institutions and other corporations.
Sarah has particular expertise in crisis management, regularly advising on urgent and injunctive relief, and has experience securing freezing injunctions, search and seizure orders and pre-publication injunctions.
Sarah is recognized as a Next Generation Partner in Legal 500 and an Up and Coming Partner in Chambers and Partners. Clients say "Sarah is fantastic and undoubtedly a star in the making." "She is very good technically and a real thinker about a case – she is also very practical and quick, with a can-do attitude." Sarah was also awarded the inaugural Rising Star Award at the 2019 Legal Week Commercial Litigation & Arbitration Awards. Sarah has completed secondments to a global investment bank and a commodities trading house.
Experience
- Tyndaris SAM v MMWWVWM Limited – Acted for the investment vehicle customer in bringing a claim against the manager under an investment management agreement in connection with a $5bn investment into a complex algorithmic fund which would select investments using AI. One of the first times the English courts were asked to consider the question of artificial intelligence in fund management, the case was one of the Lawyer magazine’s top 20 cases of 2020 in the English courts*
- A global financial institution on the investigation and recovery of assets following a $35m fraud. In the course of the litigation, secured four freezing and proprietary injunctions and a number of disclosure orders*
- A global Investment bank on its obligations as Delegate in a Sukuk. This case established, for the first time, a duty of care owed by arrangers of securitized products
- Advising the Security Agent and Issuer in respect of claims brought by bondholders to restrict Mclaren from raising further financing
- Advised a global brokerage firm in two actions against a competitor. The actions related to serious allegations concerning the competitor's deliberate procurement and misuse of our client's confidential information. In the course of the litigation, secured a pioneering order to enable the use of computer aided review / predictive coding techniques
- A global investment bank defending claims brought by the Winding-Up Committee of Kaupthing in respect of credit default swaps
- Advising HSBC Suisse in connection with the Swiss Leaks investigation
*Denotes experience outside of Goodwin
- An UHNWI in securing injunctions to protect a valuable collection of historic and vintage cars following the discovery of a fraud by the manager of the collection
- An UHNWI in respect of confidential applications to restrain the use of frozen sperm in a London fertility clinic. The matter involved team securing a number of novel orders and reporting restrictions
- A major utility in a claim against a supplier under a long-term flagship contract and negotiating a successful settlement to permit the contract to continue
- Acted for a MVNO in a claim related to allegations of breach of exclusivity in connection with the supply of 5G services
- Acting for the minority shareholders in an unfair prejudice petition and related litigation in the healthcare sector
Professional experience
Prior to joining Goodwin, Sarah was a partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner.
Credentials
Education
LPC2009
The College of Law, London Moorgate
GDL2008
Northumbria University
Politics2006
University of Edinburgh
Admissions
Bars
- England and Wales
Recognition & Awards
Sarah is recognized as a Next Generation Partner by Legal 500 and a Leading Lawyer for Commercial and Corporate Litigation by Chambers. She was also awarded the inaugural Rising Star Award at the 2019 Legal Week Commercial Litigation & Arbitration Awards. Clients describe Sarah as, “a strategic thinker, very easy to work with and knows her stuff” and “intellectual and very pragmatic."